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Feature Shelf #30: The Holes Edition

This is Feature Shelf, a series that provides book recommendations based on theme or title suggestions. This is the podcast for Episode 30: The Holes Edition which was requested by Max. My name is Eli, I’m also called the book supplier. Thanks for listening.

So I talked a little to Max about what he liked about Holes, and he was absolutely no help when it came to putting together this shelf. So what I came up with could also be called the “Boys who get in trouble, with some humor on the side” edition.

First on the shelf is Small Steps by Louis Sachar, which is the sequel to Holes. This one picks up the story two years after Camp Green Lake with Armpit, who is back in Austin, Texas. He wants to turn his life around, but it’s hard when everyone expects him to fail. It also doesn’t help that X-Ray shows up with a promise for more trouble.

Second on the shelf is Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Artemis is another boy who has a knack for trouble, but his trouble is of the criminal mastermind sort. He’s twelve, he’s incredibly clever, and his father has gone missing. And he’s willing to trample all over the fairy world to get him back.

Next up is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Stargirl Caraway is not your average tenth grader. I mean, she goes by the name Stargirl, plays the ukulele, and gives presents to people she doesn’t even know. This endears not only Leo, the story’s narrator to her, but everyone else as well. That is until they decide she’s tiresome and want her to become like everyone else.

In Hoot by Carl Haaisen, we meet another slightly odd character — one who calls himself Mullet Fingers and runs barefoot. When Roy, with his face pressed up against the window of a bus, sees mullet fingers running, he decides to give chase, and winds up in the middle of a plot to keep a pancake house from being built atop the habitat of burrowing owls.

On the shelf this week is No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman, which I add with a special shout out to my friend Ms. Williams. Wallace Wallace is a football hero. But he’s a football hero who’s been kicked off the football team because he wrote a bad review of his English teacher’s favorite book, Old Shep, My Pal — all because he didn’t like that all dogs go to heaven. No wait. That’s a movie. He doesn’t like that the dog always dies. As punishment he has to join the school play instead of playing football. And guess what they’re putting on…

So that’s five books you might like if you liked Holes: Small Steps, Artemis Fowl, Stargirl, Hoot and No More Dead Dogs.

And that’s it for this episode. For the Feature Shelf archives and show notes, both video and podcast, or to request your own Feature Shelf check out thebooksupplier.com/featureshelf. You can also send me requests on Facebook or Twitter at thebooksupplier (all one word) or an email at thebooksupplier at gmail dot com.

I’m going to leave you there now, dear readers. Thanks for listening to Feature Shelf #30: The Holes Edition. As always, I am the supplier wishing you happy reading. Don’t forget to be awesome.

If you’d like to recommend other books Fans of Holes might like or you’d like to request your own Feature Shelf, leave it in the comments and I’ll see you there soon. Until then, I am the supplier wishing you happy reading. Don’t forget to be awesome.